Helmet Safety Program
According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, each year more than 135 children die from bicycle-related injuries and approximately 270,000 are treated in emergency rooms. Of these, nearly half (47 percent) have traumatic brain injuries. Properly fitted bike helmets could reduce the risk of bike-related brain injuries by 88 percent; however, only 15 percent to 25 percent of cyclists ages 14 and under wear a helmet.
Kids 5 to 14 years old ride about 50 percent more than the average bicyclist, so it's not hard to understand why they also account for approximately one quarter of all bicycle-related deaths and more than half of all bicycle-related injuries.
McLaren Port Huron Foundation's "Saving Lives One Helmet at a Time" program provides thousands of local children every year with education and hands-on activities that encourage helmet safety. These activities include bike rodeos, videos, helmet fitting demonstrations, and assemblies with professional bike stunt teams. The Helmet Safety program also provides low cost, certified helmets for purchase to the community.
Back to School Backpack Giveaway
Back to School is a community sponsored event organized by the Women's Initiative of St. Clair County Community Foundation. This annual event helps kids from low income families in St. Clair county have a successful start to the school year.
As a part of this event, McLaren Port Huron Foundation partners with Capac State Bank to give away 500 hundred backpacks and thousands of pounds of food each year to students and families in need. Backpacks are filled with school supplies for preschool, elementary and middle school kids. This community event is a rewarding experience for all who donate, volunteer and attend.
Men's Health Night
The annual Fall Men's Health Night at Moran Automotive in Fort Gratiot focuses on creating a health checklist for men. This program includes dinner, guest speakers, and a variety of health screenings including cholesterol, blood pressure, spinal screenings, foot and body mass index.
Women's Health Program
McLaren Port Huron Foundation Community Health Teams in Capac/Yale, Lexington and Marysville host an annual women's health event each year with an average of 200 women attending. These programs focus on a variety of women's health issues that affect the mind, body and spirit. Past programs have offered a local guest speaker along with dinner, plus a variety of health screenings including free cholesterol, Blood Pressure, BMI and foot screenings as well as various vendors, gifts and prizes. These programs have been a great success and the Community Health Teams look forward to continuing their effort to provide health programming for women in our community.
For more information on any of the Foundation's community programs, please contact us at (810) 989-3776 or Foundationmph@McLaren.org.